Getting off the starting blocks

I looked through all of the online discussion notes today for the Faculty Module, and two things struck me. The first was that only 50% of the group have used the online chat room resource on MOLE and the other was the level of engagement that those who have participated have shown. I will of course respect the confidentiality of your ideas until they are fully formed, but there are a few things that you may wish to consider. The first relates to the value of your idea and whether it is best to consider patenting.

To file, or not to file? Coca cola kept their recipe secret (well as best they could!) and since the business started more than 20 years ago, in 1886 to be precise, this was clearly a good decision, since their market lead and subsequent revenues, have ensured that they have been able to compete with any alternative providers: last time I looked Coke was selling 10 bottles of coke for every bottle of Pepsi. The same is true of Jelly Babies: a closely guarded secret recipe that has taken many years to copy, but Bassetts of Sheffield company maintained a long enough market lead (founded in 1842!) to become an attractive acquisition by Cadbury-Schweppes in 1989.

Thomas Edison, a prolific filer
of patents, who was
only recently overtaken!

The use of patents to create value in a company is also a successful business option: in 2012 IBM held over 6,000 patents, with the top ten companies being exclusively electronic or ICT related. In 1997, IBM were still top, but with around 1700 patents. The countries filing most patents last year were Japan, China and the USA, with South Korea emerging as a major player. Clearly as the BRIC countries become more mainstream economically and the emerging MINT countries following suit, patenting will become a strong indicator of economic performance. So it is clear that examples exist where secrets (or know how) can be a successful strategy, but so too can patent protection. You will have to decide which route you think will be the best for your business. 

Next I will look at location, which is something one or two committees have discussed in the chat rooms.